The first meeting of what would later become the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) took place in 1905 in Fort Erie near Niagara Falls, Canada. Legendary thinkers such as W.E.B. Du Bois attended.

“We are socialized to accept less.” This is part of a quote from my friend, Angelina, as we were having a discussion on relationships. She went on to say that as a black woman, she has to give allowances to black men for our bad behaviour. She made it clear that she isn’t the exception, either. That most black women share this mindset.

These thoughts have been weighing on my heart and lately, I can’t escape them. As close as my daughter and I are now, as much as we’ve been through together and as much as I know she’s genuinely happy, there’s this constant feeling of guilt and shame that still haunts me.

Both the Santa story and consumer culture promote the ideal of wish-fulfilment, but parents can model adaptability and a healthy understanding of limitations by supporting children through disappointment.

Like many, I have closely followed the case of Cyntoia Brown. Hers is a tragic and troubling tale that has recently reignited debate about the galling sexist, classist and racist inconsistencies of the American justice system.

Less than a mere decade before my birth, there were Black children in Ontario “learning” under a segregated school system. They endured cramped classrooms with dim lighting and toilets that would only flush with the aid of water in a bucket.